NOVEMBER 30, 2025 ~ FROM A PASTOR'S HEART

NOVEMBER 30 DEVOTIONAL BIBLE READING: PSALM 46

Our God is all sufficient! That is not just a religious phrase, but an eternal truth. Because of all that God is, He is everything we need at all times and through all things. Yes, even suffering. There is a faction with the church that teaches people that they don't have to suffer...that if their faith is strong enough they can, by their faith, avoid suffering. This is not true. Our own experiences and the Scripture itself, tell us this is not true. First, suffering is part of the human experience. Secondly, suffering is part of the Christian experience. If our Savior suffered, we too will suffer. The Scripture makes this clear. In this world we can expect, "...trials and tribulations..." No one is immune from suffering. The faithful suffer as well as the wicked. "It rains on the just and the unjust.” Don’t let anyone mislead you into believing that if you just have enough faith you won't have to suffer.

God is an all sufficient God. He is able to do all things, which means He certainly can remove the suffering. Or, He could remove us from the suffering. I have seen Him do that many times over the years. Or, He could be our strength as we go through the suffering. Much of the time, if not most the time, this is the reality. In suffering, God does both a work in us and a work through us. In us, He is forming us into the image of His Son. Through us, He is touching people's lives in a way that is beyond our comprehension. Some would say, "surely it can't be God's will for us to suffer." Really? Was it His will for Jesus to suffer? Was it His will for the Apostles to suffer? Was it His will for the early church to suffer? Is it His will for many of our modern day Christians to suffer? Could it be God's will that we too suffer? The point is, that even in suffering, which is a universal experience, God is still God. No one wants to suffer. We try to avoid it...but sometimes it is unavoidable and it is in those times, God is still working out His perfect plan and in those times, He remains our all sufficient God!

Please share your thoughts.